The Lorelei Chronicles: City Life
by Thewhovianwerewolf
Summary: When Lorelei goes on a stroll through London, she finds two people in desperate need of help that only a Time Lord can provide.


Rose and the Doctor were both busy, and I was bored, so I needed to make myself useful. For no particular reason, I had decided that it was a good day to wear my magician's costume, complete with top hat. I loved how the Doctor had made it bigger in the inside. That's the right kind of hat to have if you're going to be a magician. I kept all my tricks in there, everything from cards, to rope, to animals. It was fun to watch people's reactions when I pulled out something ridiculous like a giant hammer. It wasn't so much fun when Ace had stolen it and filled it up with every creamy thing she could get her hands on. Chuckling to myself at the memory, I stepped out into the streets, hungry as hell. It was lunch time, though you couldn't tell with all the fog around. I could've just teleported to the nearest pizza parlor, but walking meant a chance to see something interesting. Of course, leave it to me to get lost. I'd been walking around for an hour, and had ended up in a real shady part of town. I was about to teleport when I heard sirens. Teleporting in front of people can only lead to trouble, so I was forced to wait. The sound was coming from a cop car that had just pulled around the corner. At the same time, a woman came running out of an alley. The car stopped and two cops stepped out, guns drawn. They were both pointing at the woman. I frowned. This wasn't so much interesting as it was sad. Unless she'd committed some horrible crime. Than it was justice. However, something interesting had caught my eye. Nearby, two kids were hiding behind a trashcan, watching the scene unfold. The smaller one of the two, a boy, looked fearful. The older one, the girl, looked she like wanted to beat the cops up. Neither one of them looked particularly interested in joining the woman in the back seat. The police seemed not to notice the kids at all, and just forced the woman into the back of the car, and then drove away. Only when the car was out of sight did the children come out of their hiding place. The young boy, who couldn't have been older than six, started sobbing uncontrollably. The girl kicked one of the trashcans in frustration, which only made the boy sob louder. She quickly hurried him into a nearby ally, probably so they wouldn't attract any more attention. But it was too late. My attention had already been piqued. I turned into a mouse and scurried after them. The girl sat the boy down on a crate, and took out a napkin to dry his tears. She didn't seem angry anymore, but worried about the boy. It was heartbreaking and warming at the same time. I waited until she had finished cleaning him to transform back, out of sight of the two. I silently crept up behind the girl, not making a sound. "Are you alright?". She jumped, and covered her mouth to stop from screaming. She grabbed the boy's hand and prepared to make a break for it. "Stop! I'm not with the cops. I just want to know if you need help", I assured her. She stared me down. I could tell she didn't trust anyone, me included, and my sudden appearance didn't ease her suspicions. "Why the hell would you want to help us?", she sneered. "What can I say? I hate to see a kid cry". And that was the God's-honest truth. She thought my statement over for a moment. "Who are you? And what's with the gettup? Most kids run from home to the circus, not the other way around". I chuckled. "I'm not most kids. Anyways, I'll answer your questions if you answer mine". Again, she thought this over. She finally nodded in acceptance, though her expression showed that she didn't trust me one bit. "Alright, first question. Who was that woman? You two obviously knew her", I asked. The girl sighed and joined her brother on the crate. She rubbed her face and looked around, as if to make sure no one was listening in. "She's our mom", she said wearily. "So I take it this little guy is your brother", I said ruffling his hair. "This 'little guy' is Brian, and he's the toughest kid I know. I'm Liz, and now it's my turn to ask a question. Who are you?". I pondered how to respond to that. "Lorelei Roe, thirteen-year-old American. Sorry, but if I tell you more, I'll have to wipe your memory". She snorted. "It's true! Hypnotism is a very real process. It's not like you see in the movies", I explained. "Fair enough. Your turn", was all she said. "Is your mom in some kind of trouble? The police don't usually taxi people around". "It's not something to joke about", Liz said bitterly. Finally Jaime decided to speak up. "Our mummy said the lady had lots of money, and she wouldn't share even a little with us. I was super hungry, and mummy said that the lady wouldn't notice if we took a little money. But the lady did notice". He started tearing up again. "I made mummy go away", he said whimpering. Liz hugged him. "Hush baby, you had nothing to do with this, I promise". She turned to me, and explained further. "It was 15 pounds, alright? Just enough to keep us from starving. We asked that woman nicely if she could spare a few, but she just turned up her nose at us… whatever. My turn now. All we want to do is go home. Can you get us there?". I smiled. "I have a friend who can help. Follow me". "Dear god, more people. Who are you, really? A secret agent or something? You can go ahead and hypnotize me. It won't work on me". I didn't say a word, about hypnotism or otherwise. Suddenly, I felt a drop of water on my nose. Then two drops, Then three, five, eight; pretty soon it was pouring ."Can this day get any worse?", Liz said under her breath. "Relax, I always come prepared", I said mischievously. I took off my top hat and stuck one hand in. "Look, I am so not in the mood for stupid magic tricks. We need shelter", Liz said annoyed. "Ask and you shall receive", I mumbled. Finally I found what I was looking for. From the top hat I pulled a large, multicolored umbrella. The Doctor said I could keep it, since he really didn't want to be reminded of his "rebellious phase", as he called it. Liz and Brian stared at me, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Like I said, I love watching people's reactions. I opened the umbrella and they quickly ran underneath. "How on Earth did you do that?", Liz asked me. She snatched the hat from my head and looked inside. There was a false bottom, that only opened to my touch, so she couldn't see or feel anything. She shook it, trying to make something fall out. The hat had a voice lock too, which only worked if I said a secret phrase. "I wouldn't do that if I were you", I warned her. "Well then it's good that you're not me, isn't it?", she retorted. What she didn't know was that I had said the secret phrase. Finally, something did come out: a chicken's egg, perfectly raw. It splattered all over her, the egg running down her face and the front of her shirt. Brian and I cracked up (no pun intended), and Liz shoved the hat at me. "I warned you", I said in between giggles. I pulled a handkerchief from my waistcoat pocket and let her wipe off the egg with it. "So my mom's in jail, my brother and I are lost, and we're stuck following a demented teenage magician in the rain. An American too. This is just great". Ignoring the insult, I put the hat back on. "Hey don't worry", I assured her. "If there's one thing I've learned in thirteen years of life, It's that eventually, everything comes up roses". I produced a bouquet with a flourish, right out of thin air, and handed it off to her. Though she tried to hide it, I saw a small smile on her face. 'I want flowers! Can I have a venus flytrap?", Brian begged. I laughed. "No venus flytraps, but here's something you might like". I handed the umbrella to Liz, and cupped my hands. A silver light began to glow from them. I opened them, and a beautiful silver butterfly flew up and around, before landing on Brian's nose. The two siblings looked on, mouths gaping. Brian giggled and tried to capture the insect. It was impossible, of course. The butterfly wasn't really there. It was a psychic projection, seen only by us three. His hand went right through it. It started flying circles around my head before I "caught" it with my hat. Liz handed me the umbrella, slowly. "How are you doing these things? The umbrella, the butterfly…", Liz said in confusion. "Who are you?". I didn't answer, because I saw that we had arrived at the TARDIS. "We're here", I told them. Liz looked at me strange. "A… phone box? What is this? It's marked police!". I gulped. I'd forgotten about that. "Stop! It's not a real police box! It's fake!", I called out to them as they ran away. I finally caught up to Liz and grabbed her arm. "Let me go!", she yelled, scratching at me with her free hand. "Please! My friends and I can help! We're not police!". She stopped scratching and started panting. Her brother clung to her leg. "Alright, but if there are police in there, we're out of here, and I'm taking that hat with me. I could sell it for a lot, I bet". "Fair enough", I agreed, though I couldn't help but pull the hat down my head a little. I pushed open the doors. "After you", said Liz. I graciously obliged. "Doctor! I'm back! And I brought friends!, I called out as I closed the umbrella. Liz and Brian stood where they couldn't see inside. I poked my head out and motioned for them to enter. "Doctor… doctor who?", Liz muttered. They stepped inside, Brian following Liz, and their mouths dropped open farther than when I had pulled the umbrella out. "Oh my god…", was all Liz could say. "Where are we?", stuttered Brian. Just then, the Doctor walked into the room. "Oi, I always figured you'd bring a girl home one of these days", he teased. "Ha ha. This girl and her brother need help". I quickly explained the situation to him. He listened intently, and nodded when I was finished. "Well, if it's a ride home you need, I'm your guy", he told the two siblings. Liz opened her mouth to say something, but the Doctor shushed her. "Before you ask any question, yes I'm an alien, yes this is my spaceship, and yes it's bigger on the inside. Anything else?". She shook her head quickly. "Good! Let's get going!". He dashed to the TARDIS console, pushing buttons and flipping levers widely. The TARDIS lurched to one side, causing the siblings to fall backwards onto a railing. "Nice driving, Martian", Liz sneered. "I'm not from Mars, but thanks!", the Doctor beamed. "Alright we're here. Cmon, let's go". He motioned for everyone to follow him. "Hold on! We never even told you our address!", Liz protested. The Doctor just smiled and stepped out the door. I shrugged and followed with the siblings on my tail. Once we were outside, it was clear that we were indeed not at any house. We were outside the London Police department. "Relax, it's not what you think", the Doctor assured us. "How did we get here? Did we fly?", Brian piped up. "Erm, teleport is a more accurate word", I told him. We followed the Doctor into the building. "Oi, big sister, what's your mum's name?", he whispered. "Rachel Canter". We made our way to the front desk. "Here to see Rachel Canter, please. I'm here to post bail". Liz's eyes widened. We followed the receptionists directions to the room with the jail cells. "Liz! Brian!", Rachel called when she saw us. "And who are you?", she said to the Doctor and I. The Doctor didn't seem to notice. He was talking to a guard. "I'm Lorelei, mam, and my friend is the Doctor. We've come to help". She eyed me suspiciously. Whatever the Doctor was talking about with the guard, they seemed to be in agreement. The guard took out a key and strolled to Ms. Canter's cell. "You're free to go, mam", he informed her. Ms. Canter was stunned. It took her a few seconds to comprehend the situation. Slowly she shuffled out of the cell and took her children into her arms. We wasted no time in leaving the station, and the Canters wasted no time in questioning how the Doctor got Ms. Canter out of jail. "Oh just a little trick I picked up. Some call it hypnotism. I call it a tool for getting out of scrapes". He grinned, as did Liz, who finally realized that what I had said about hypnotism was true. "Dear god, how are we going to get home? We're all the way across town", Ms. Canter moaned. "I can give you a lift, if you like". Ms. Cantrell was grateful, albeit confused when told to enter a police box. But confusion turned to wonder when she stepped inside. "He's an alien mum! A real alien!", the Canter siblings shouted in unison. "I can see that", their mother mumbled. The Doctor, after asking for their address, set the coordinates for the other side of London, proud that I had found these two kids, and proud of himself for rescuing their mum. As the TARDIS made its familiar groaning sounds, I leaned on the console, happy to know that this family would live to see another day together.


End file.
